?Biomedical Rese?arch Institute

?

Construction of the ?BMRI?

?The Faculty's biomedical teaching, training and research took place in its Physiology and Anatomy (FISAN) building. The FISAN building was built in the 1970's and approximately 30 000 medicine and health science students have studied here. In the four decades since the FISAN building has been opened, student numbers have more than tripled and the field of biomedicine has changed significantly over time.

The FMHS continued to acquire new technology and equipment in the intervening years, but the physical infrastructure had not kept up with the research demands and the current building is no longer fit for purpose.

Construction of the R1 billion-project commenced in January 2019 and is set to be completed by December 2022 and fully operational by January 2023. Apart from a range of research laboratories, the new facility will also host:

  • A Bioinformatics Hub;

  • Electron microscopy laboratories;

  • Proteomics and FACS laboratories;

  • A Morphology Museum;

  • A Biorepository;

  • The Sunskill Laboratory;

  • A Clinical research unit; and

  • Conference facilities.

Unique architectural features of the new BMRI include, inter alia, the following:

  • Sustainability is fundamental to the design of the building's energy and water systems, material selection, emissions, waste management, use of natural light, ventilation and acoustics.

  • Flexibility of the configuration, deployment of smart technologies, rainwater harvesting and community access to the facility have all been designed to evolve with the building as the way we do research changes in the future.

  • A smart lighting system will detect areas where natural light is strongest and adjust lighting accordingly, thus drawing less electricity from the grid.

  • A tie-in to the campus's greywater masterplan, which allows for rain water harvesting and the use of borehole water. All toilets will be flushed with non-potable water.?